Welcome to NCPEA

The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA) is an association of researchers, practitioners, educators, and advocates dedicated to protecting the safety, security, and dignity of America's most vulnerable citizens. It was established in 1988 to achieve a clearer understanding of abuse and provide direction and leadership to prevent it. Since 1998. NCPEA has been a partner or participant in the National Center on Elder Abuse, funded by Congress to serve as the nation's clearinghouse and resource for abuse and neglect. To learn more about NCPEA, click here.

The Issue of Elder Abuse

Spiraling rates of elder mistreatment are reported by both practitioners and researchers. In a recent national study of Adult Protective Services (APS), typically the agency of first report concerning elder abuse, there were 253,421 reports of abuse of adults age 60+ or 832.6 reports for every 100,000 people over the age of 60 (Teaster, Dugar, Otto, Mendiondo, Abner, & Cecil, 2006). The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study (National Center on Elder Abuse, 1998) found that more than 500,000 persons aged 60+ were victims of domestic abuse and that an estimated 84% of incidents are not reported to authorities, denying victims the protection and support they need. Given the significant underreporting, the Senate Special Committee on Aging estimated that as many as five million older Americans may be victims of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation every year. These vulnerable elders are subject to injury and to premature death (Lachs et al., 1998), often from caregivers and family members. Elder financial exploitation—commonly linked with other forms of abuse and neglect—threatens the health, dignity, and economic security of millions of older Americans. Elder abuse is estimated to cost Americans tens of billions of dollars annually in health care, social services, investigative and legal costs, and lost income and assets.

Elder Abuse News

NEWS FROM THE ELDER JUSTICE COALITION

September 18, 2014

Elder Justice Reauthorization Act Introduced in the House

Yesterday, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) introduced H.R. 5515, the Elder Justice Reauthorization Act, in the House. The EJRA would simply reauthorize the Elder Justice Act through the end of FY 2019. It is co-sponsored by Reps. Tim Bishop, Alan Grayson, Marcy Kaptur, Mike Honda, Earl Blumenauer, Jan Schakowsky, Raul Grijalva, Michelle Lujan Grisham and Steve Cohen. It has been referred to the Ways and Means Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Education and Workforce Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee.

House Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee Democrats released an appropriations bill for Labor-HHS-Education FY 2015 funding on September 15. It would fund the Elder Justice Initiative at the same level as the Senate proposed, $10 million. This bill is not likely to succeed in House Appropriations, but it is a good indication of support for the Initiative among House Democrats. (one-pager; summary; funding table; full bill)

CRS Releases Report on Elder Justice Act

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released a report on the Elder Justice Act entitled "The Elder Justice Act: Background and Issues for Congress." It "provides a brief legislative history of the Elder Justice Act, summarizes elder justice provisions enacted as part of ACA, and administrative efforts related to implementation and funding." It also details issues for Congress to consider when reauthorizing the Act. The report can be found here.

ASA Kathy Greenlee Speaks at UN Human Rights Council

Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee spent last week in Geneva, Switzerland at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) moderating a workshop on Elder Abuse and Violence Against Older Women. According to ASA Greenlee's blog on the event, she was joined by the Honorable Keith Harper, U.S. Ambassador to the HRC, who opened the event, and by four experts on elder abuse and the rights of older adults. This was the first time a panel on elder abuse was convened at the HRC. ASA Greenlee said in her blog, "I am proud to continue to work with advocates in U.S. and abroad who share my passion about combating abuse... We must tackle the complex problems of abuse at every opportunity. We have friends around the world who stand with us in this fight."

ELDER JUSTICE ROADMAP July 2014

NCPEA is delighted to join elder justice advocates across the country in announcing today’s release of the Elder Justice Roadmap Report by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services. This unprecedented two-year effort gathered input from public and private entities, experts from across the United States, and hundreds of people who address elder abuse and have a role to play in detecting and preventing it. The Roadmap provides a detailed, practical guide for teams, communities, states and national entities. It is a strategic planning resource by the field for the field to foster coordinated approaches to reduce elder abuse, neglect and exploitation—a problem with solutions.

Georgia Anetzberger, immediate past president of NCPEA, was a subject matter expert for the Roadmap Project Guidance Group. A number of other NCPEA members were among those who provided input into making the Roadmap a reality. In response to the Roadmap Report’s release, Anetzberger said, “This is the most comprehensive strategic plan to date for the field of elder abuse. With input from more than 750 persons nationwide, the Roadmap provides detailed actions for solving the problem of elder abuse in this country.”

The Roadmap highlights key priorities and offers action steps to enhance direct services, education, policy, and research to reduce elder abuse. The Elder Justice Roadmap Report can be found online at http://ncea.acl.gov/Library/Gov_Report/index.aspx

NCPEA’s POLYVICTIMIZATION PROJECT

The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA) is engaged in an interdisciplinary national project to explore and address polyvictimization in late life, supported by a grant from the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime. From late 2012 through January 2015, this highly collaborative venture will leverage expertise andpractice wisdom through: a Project Core Team of content experts; input from seven diverse national partner organizations representing distinct professional constituencies; a national solicitation to contribute research and practice examples to a literature review; and a forum to deepen understanding of the findings. From these efforts, NCPEA’s project team will develop an interdisciplinary training curriculum on polyvictimization in later life, packaged as a high quality video series with written training materials. A dedicated e-training website will house the streaming video segments along with written training materials for self-guided study. Webinars, and presentations at national and regional conferences will further disseminate project findings and training products.

Content experts working with NCPEA:

Trudy Gregorie, Justice Solutions

Candace Heisler, JD, Heisler & Associates

Kathleen Quinn, National Adult Protective Services Association

Holly Ramsey-Klawsnik, Ph.D, Klawsnik & Klawsnik Associates

Karen A. Roberto, Ph.D, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University